This application relates generally to footwear and more particularly to attachments which are adapted to be stretched over a portion of the upper of an article of primary footwear, e.g., a shoe or boot, so that a portion of it is on the sole/heel of primary the primary footwear to alter the amount of ground engaging traction provided thereby, e.g., to enhance the traction to provide increased resistance to slippage.
Various ice gripping, sandal-like, attachments for footwear are commercially and have been disclosed in the patent literature, Examples of such patented devices are found in the following U.S. Letters Pat. Nos.: 1,032,600 (Grout); 2,361,972 (Smith); 3,214,850 (McNair); 3,516,181 (Jordan); 4,344,238 (Peyser); 4,353,172 (Bryant); 4,525,939 (McNeil et al.); and 4,910,883 (Zock, Jr.).
There are also some spike or cleat-bearing attachments which are commercially available for use on footwear to prevent slippage on ice or other slippery surfaces. One such type of attachment is sold under the trademark "RUD Shoe Chain" and is a rubber ring having chains extending between opposed portions of the ring. The rubber ring is arranged to be stretched over the upper of a boot or shoe so that the chains extend under the sole and heel to provide traction on ice and snow.
Another type of attachment is sold under the trademark SPIKY and is in the form of a resilient rubber sling or overshoe having plural metal spikes or cleats on the bottom thereof and which are arranged to dig into ice when the attachment is worn over an article of primary footwear, e.g., a boot or shoe.
While the aforementioned prior art devices are generally suitable for their intended purposes, they still leave something to be desired fiom various standpoints, such as simplicity of construction, compactness, ease of mounting and removing, integrity of components and effectiveness.
Other prior art attachment devices for footwear are shown in the following U.S. Letters Pat. Nos.: 1,877,080 (Teshima), 2,076,316 (Beals, Jr.), 2,617,209 (Jackson), 2,628,437 (Forsythe), 3,012,343 (Dinkel), 3,040,451 (Helkemeyer), 3,609,888 (Rickman), 4,807,372 (McCall), 4,302,890 (Covell et al.), 4,727,662 (Ilon), 5,485,687 (Rohde), and 5,341,582 (Liautand).
In the parent application to this application there is disclosed and claimed a footwear attachment device for releasable mounting on primary footwear, e.g., a boot or shoe, to provide enhanced traction. The primary footwear has an upper including a toe portion and a heel portion, a sole including a fore-foot portion and a heel portion. The attachment device is in the form of an integral member having a mounting ring, a forefoot-sole engaging portion, a heel-sole engaging portion, and plural connecting webs and is preferably molded of a resilient material. The forefoot-sole engaging portion and the heel-sole engaging portion of that device are each generally planar members mounted within the bounds of the ring by the connecting webs. The ring is stretchable to enable it to encircle the upper of the primary footwear to releasably mount it, so that its forefoot-sole engaging portion is engagement with the forefoot portion of the sole of the primary footwear, and the heel-sole engaging portion is in engagement with the heel portion of that sole. The forefoot-sole portion and the heel-sole portion of the attachment device each have a ground engaging surface, e.g., ridges, grooves, cleats or combinations thereof, for providing a desired type of traction. A pull tab is also provided on the ring to facilitate the mounting of the ring on the primary footwear.
While the foregoing device is suitable for its intended purposes it may leave something to be desired from the standpoints of accommodating various sizes and shapes of primary footwear on which it is to be mounted, and resistance to accidentally becoming dismounted from that footwear.